How to Host a Minecraft Bedrock Server (Step by Step, 2026)

The easiest way to host a Minecraft Bedrock server is to rent one: you pick a plan, pay, and about a minute later you have an IP and port that friends on Windows, iPhone, Android, Xbox, PlayStation and Switch can all join. This guide walks through Bedrock server hosting with GamezServers from checkout to your first session, then covers what to set up on day one: the allowlist, operators, console players, add-ons and updates.

Not sure which edition you need? Bedrock is the Minecraft on phones, consoles and the Windows version from the Microsoft Store or Xbox app. If your group plays Minecraft: Java Edition on PC or Mac, you want a Java server instead.

Step 1: Pick the right plan

Bedrock plans are sized by RAM. We run Mojang's own Bedrock Dedicated Server, which is native code and much lighter than a Java server. Mojang recommends at least 1 GB, so even our smallest plan has room to spare for a group of friends.

Plan	RAM	vCPU	Suggested players	Price per month
Starter	2 GB	2	up to 10	4.99 USD
Standard (Popular)	4 GB	2	up to 25	9.99 USD
Pro	6 GB	2	up to 50	14.99 USD

What to pick for your group:

Your server	RAM that fits
Survival with up to 10 friends	2 GB
Busy survival world or a few add-ons, 10 to 25 players	4 GB
Large explored world, heavy add-ons or 25 to 50 players	6 GB

The player limit follows your plan automatically. You can change plans later and your world comes with you. For the long version, read how much RAM a game server needs.

Step 2: Choose your world settings at checkout

Open Minecraft Bedrock server hosting and click the button under your plan. At checkout you can set:

World name: the folder your world lives in. A new world is created with this name.
Game mode: Survival, Creative or Adventure.
Difficulty: Peaceful, Easy, Normal or Hard.
Allowlist: off lets anyone with the address join, on only lets in players you add.

Everything else, like cheats and the server version, sits under More settings and can be changed later from the panel. Your server's name, which shows in the Bedrock server list, comes from the name you give it.

Hosting for a friend group? Choose Split with friends to split the bill between 2 to 10 people, each paying their own share by card.

Step 3: Pay and check your dashboard

Pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay through Stripe. New customers get 50% off the first month on any plan. You land on your dashboard, where the server shows as Setting up for about a minute and then Online. Your address is at the top of the control panel, for example 123.45.67.89:19204. The part before the colon is the IP, the number after it is the port.

Step 4: Join from Windows, iPhone, iPad or Android

Update Minecraft to the newest version.
Click Play, then open the Servers tab.
Choose Add Server.
Type any Server Name, put the IP in Server Address and the number after the colon in Port.
Click Save, then pick the server in the list to join.

The most common mistake is leaving the port at the default 19132 or pasting the whole address with the colon into Server Address. Bedrock needs them in separate boxes.

Step 5: Get console players in

Xbox, PlayStation and Switch players can play on your server, but their Servers tab only shows the featured servers and has no Add Server button. They need a one time workaround, usually the free BedrockConnect DNS method. Our guide on how to join a Minecraft Bedrock server on Xbox, PS5 and Switch walks through it for each console.

Step 6: Allowlist your friends

If you turned the allowlist on, nobody gets in until you add them, including you. Click Allowlist player in the panel and type a Gamertag, or run this in the Console:

allowlist add "Gamertag Here"

Use the exact Gamertag, and keep the quotes when it has a space. Remove someone with allowlist remove "Gamertag Here". The list is saved in allowlist.json. To switch the allowlist on or off for good, change Allowlist in the panel settings and restart.

Step 7: Make yourself an operator

Operators can use commands like /gamemode, /tp and /time set. Click Make operator and enter your Gamertag, or type op "Gamertag Here" in the Console. Join the server first, since the command finds players who are online. It is then saved to permissions.json against your Xbox account, so it survives restarts.

Many commands also need cheats. Turn on Allow cheats in the panel settings, or for this session only run changesetting allow-cheats true in the Console. Worlds with cheats on do not earn achievements.

Step 8: Handy console commands

These work in the panel Console, without the slash:

Command	What it does
`say Hello everyone`	Broadcast a message to all players.
`kick "Gamertag" Reason`	Kick a player with a message.
`time set day`	Make it morning.
`weather clear`	Stop rain and thunder.
`gamerule keepinventory true`	Players keep items when they die.
`changesetting difficulty hard`	Change difficulty without a restart (until the next restart).
`allowlist list`	Show everyone on the allowlist.
`stop`	Save and shut down cleanly.

Step 9: Add-ons and your own world

Bedrock servers use add-ons, not Java mods or plugins. The easiest route is to create a world on your own device with the add-ons applied, export it as a .mcworld, and upload it. Our guide on how to add add-ons to a Minecraft Bedrock server covers both that and installing packs directly.

To upload a world: rename the .mcworld file to .zip, unzip it, then upload the folder into worlds from the Files tab or over SFTP. Set World name in the panel to the folder name and restart.

Step 10: Keep the server updated

Phones and consoles update Minecraft automatically, and a player on a newer version cannot join an older server. They see "Outdated server". After every Minecraft update, click Update game in the dashboard. It backs up your world, installs the newest Bedrock Dedicated Server and keeps your world, allowlist and permissions. More in how to fix Minecraft Bedrock outdated server.

Also useful: click Backup before big changes, and remember the server sleeps after 90 minutes with nobody online and starts again in one click. Turn that off in Settings if you want it online around the clock.

Self hosting vs GamezServers

	Self hosting	GamezServers
Cost	Free, plus electricity	From 4.99 USD a month, splittable
Setup	Download the server, edit server.properties	Pick a plan, pay, live in about a minute
Port forwarding	UDP port on your router	None
Online when you log off	Only if your PC stays on	Yes, it runs in a data center
Updates	Download and copy files after each release	One click Update game, world kept
Backups	Copy folders yourself	One click

FAQ

How much does it cost to host a Minecraft Bedrock server?

With GamezServers, from 4.99 USD a month for 2 GB, and 9.99 USD for the popular 4 GB plan. New customers get 50% off the first month.

Can Xbox, PS5 and Switch players join?

Yes. They play like everyone else, but need a one time workaround like BedrockConnect because consoles cannot add custom servers.

Can Java players join a Bedrock server?

No. For Java and Bedrock players together, host a Java server and add Geyser, which lets Bedrock players join Java worlds.

How is this different from a Realm?

A Realm lets you and 10 friends play at once and gives no file access. A dedicated server lets you pick the player limit, upload worlds and add-ons, run console commands and keep your own backups.

What port does a Bedrock server use?

Bedrock's default is 19132 UDP, but hosted servers get their own port. Always use the port shown with your address.